AIR PRESS INTERVIEWS GENERAL BERNARDIS

The use of air power during Operation Unified Protector and budget cuts were the main topics addressed by the Chief of Staff. For the mission, as explained by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the latest weapon systems acquired by the Air Force were employed, but also older ones which were adapted to operational needs, such as the Tornados and AM-X.«These are machines – said Bernardis – which will need to last for the rest of this decade, and we are confident that they will be able to do so while awaiting the arrival of the F-35 in Italy, which will be their replacement. In the meantime, we have pushed forward the Eurofighter, which has proven to be a very valid platform for carrying out the primary role that we consider to be its real job, namely conducting air supremacy campaigns with the utmost capability and effectiveness. ». «Libya – he added – it has been demonstrated that machines capable of sophisticated air-to-ground operations are absolutely necessary. We are not yet at the level of the F-35, but with its arrival we will also acquire those capabilities.»With the Chief of Staff, Air Press also addressed the issue of defence cuts. «"We believe – said the General – that the programmes we have in hand are all scalable and manageable with the resources that are likely to be available.This will probably involve deciding how much leeway to give to certain programmes. In any case, we don't think we've made investments that exceed the country's management capacity, and we are aware that we cannot go beyond what we are given. We are however convinced that if we manage to maintain quality, sometimes even at the expense of quantity, we are on the right track.»In recent years, the combat aircraft fleet has halved from 400 to 200 units, and this halving is the «limit beyond which one thinks one will no longer go». «From an acquisitions perspective – explained the Chief of Staff – We can maintain a certain capacity. It's a matter of seeing from time to time how much we'll be allocated to manage what we've acquired and balancing activities. At the moment, we are suffering heavily in certain sectors, such as infrastructure, where we need to contract. However, contraction requires long periods and resources, because, like all restructurings, it costs more at the initial stage than in the maintenance phase. For example, if we have to relocate staff or abandon airports, we incur associated costs that cannot currently be supported with the allocated funds. Therefore, we are in a contradiction; we want to become smaller but we cannot do so.»Still on the subject of acquisitions, such as airborne detection systems, the Chief of Staff said that it is the Armed Force's duty to make plans to be independent, to be submitted to those responsible for making decisions.«We are aware that at this moment we cannot ask for the moon on a stick, because the resources are not there. However, we must state what is necessary, because we are responsible for providing information. If we do not provide information to those who have to decide, we are not doing our job.»Air Press No. 45 of 21/11/2011